Sunglasses and Toucans
by Sherlocking
Summary: A married Merlin and Arthur remember how their pet names for each other came about. Dedicated to Blab911. I DO NOT OWN MERLIN. SLASH.


**This one-shot is dedicated to the beautiful and amazing Blab911. For putting up with my inane, Merlin-based babble, and for convincing me not to delete my account and give up :)  
We'll be best friends til the day we die.**

**BTW: This contains lots of private jokes. By all means, read it, but it'll seem a little random :)  
X  


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"Arthur!" called Morgana, waving him over to the restaurant table. Will and Gwen moved over to make room for the blonde, who strode over, snagging the seat next to his raven-haired husband.

"Happy birthday, my platypus." He said happily, leaning in to kiss Merlin thoroughly.

"Thank you, toucan, honey." replied Merlin after pulling away, a grin twisting his lips.

"Uh- nice pet names." commented Will, attempting to keep a straight face.

"There's a very good story behind them, I'll have you know!" protested Arthur, and Merlin nodded vigorously.

"Oh really? Do tell." said Will in an amused tone, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Arthur and Merlin glanced at each other, smiling.

XxXxX

**2 YEARS AGO**

Merlin raised an eyebrow at Arthur's wondrous expression.

"It's just a bird, Arthur. Calm down."

Arthur gaped at him.  
"How could you! It's a toucan!"

Merlin rolled his eyes, both at the rather boring birds and his outraged lover.  
"Yes, I completely understand why you like it." he said seriously, nodding. Arthur grinned, until Merlin continued.

"It lets you know that there are other living creatures with a mouth of your size."

Arthur scowled at him, waving an irritated hand in his direction. Chuckling, Merlin left Arthur with the toucans, instead heading over to the penguin exhibit.

A few minutes later, Merlin was seated near the penguins, watching them fondly. He jumped when a deep voice spoke into his ear, the warm puff of breath making him shiver.

"I understand why you like them." said Arthur, and not even giving Merlin an opportunity to reply, he continued.

"They're just as uncoordinated as you, waddling around."

Laughing, Merlin dragged Arthur down onto the bench next to him.

"What's next?" he asked eagerly, unraveling a rather large map of the zoo.

His bright blue eyes scanning the paper before him, Arthur placed his finger atop a certain building.  
"That looks interesting." He glanced at Merlin, who looked doubtful.

"Platypus? Really?"

Arthur poked him.  
"For your information, platypi are an adorable species wh-"

"Who can't decide if they're a beaver or a duck! And also, platypi technically isn't a word." Merlin smirked triumphantly.

"Oh whatever! We're going there!"  
With this, Arthur took hold of Merlin's arm and dragged him through the zoo, following the map.

"Oh, you are such a dominant companion!" whispered Merlin teasingly, so as not to be heard by the bustling crowd around them.

Arthur blushed, but kept his tight grip on the brunette.

XxX

"Great. It's a platypus. Wow, it's swimming. Is that all?" asked Merlin dryly, surveying the swimming creatures in the tank uninterestedly. _He_ had wanted to go and see the elephant show, but _noo! _Arthur just needed to see the platypus.

Arthur looked outraged.  
"Of course that's not all, idiot! They are native to Australia, you know. AND, they're on the Australian twenty cent coin! Now, don't they seem a lot more important?" he asked smugly, watching Merlin's reaction.

"So they're only worth twenty cents?" asked Merlin innocently.

Arthur groaned.  
"You are so irritating."

Merlin grinned cheekily back.  
"It's a natural talent."

Arthur ignored him, instead pressing himself against the glad to get a better look at the agile animals. One swam past him, it's sheen brown coat shining in the water.

It completely ignored him, instead heading over to where Merlin was leaning against the wall. The brunette looked up at it, and there were a few moments of terse eye contact.

"…Arthur? Why is that platypus staring at me?"

**FIVE MINUTES LATER**

"Hello!" sang Merlin cheerfully through the glass, greeting yet another platypus that had swum over to him.

"I think I'll call you prat-face," he said fondly, splaying his hand out on the glass.

Arthur watched sulkily as 'prat-face' swum closer to Merlin's hand.

If it were possible, he knew the platypuses would be holding a sign that read "Hi there Arthur Pendragon. WE DON'T LIKE YOU."

He scowled deeply, waiting for his boyfriend to hurry up.

As if hearing his grumpy thoughts, Merlin glanced over to him and smiled brightly. Arthur sighed in defeat, deciding they could stay a little longer. When did he turn into such a sap anyway!

Slipping his sunglasses on to his face, he smirked. It was time for his favorite pastime, Merlin-watching!

The sunglasses allowed him to observe and admire his adorable brunette without the other realizing. It was genius, of course. Except for the fact that Merlin actually could see Arthur's eyes through the tinted glass. Though he would never tell the blonde that.

After a significant amount of time staring at Merlin interacting with the platypuses, Arthur finally spoke.

"You are _such_ a platypus."

Merlin turned, flashing a grin at him.

"That I am, my dear toucan." he replied, eyes twinkling.

XxXxX

**BACK TO PRESENT**

Merlin and Arthur didn't even bother to answer Will's question. They just linked hands and walked wordlessly out of the restaurant.

"Where are they going!" demanded Will, bewildered.

"The zoo." replied Morgana, smiling after the two men.

Seeing Will's still-confused expression, Gwen spoke up.

"Trust me, it makes more sense if you've heard the story."

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**A/N: I've developed an addiction to writing one-shots. :O**


End file.
